*ETTING5EAL$BOUT2UR)OOD&HOICES 72'':,1$17 Earth Voice Food Choice Manual Getting Real About Our Food Choices A Multimedia Project for Parents, Teachers,Young People and Food Personnel Todd Winant First Edition Copyright © 2006 by Todd Winant All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. The recipes, handouts and articles in chapters 15, 16 and 17 may be copied as long as Earth Voice Food Choice Project, P. O. Box 4315, Sedona, AZ 86340 appears on the bottom of each page as it is printed in this book. Earth Walk Publishing P.O. Box 4315 Sedona, AZ 86340 www.earthvoicefoodchoice.com Layout and design by Mei Wei Wong and Karen Reider Chapter illustrations by Tracey Baptist Cover design by Steve Akash and Sherry Winant Library of Congress Cataloging-In-Publication Data Earth Voice Food Choice Manual, Getting Real About Our Food Choices a Multimedia Project for Parents, Teachers, Young People & Food Personnel Todd Winant–1st Ed. P. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN-13: 978-0-9762166-0-5 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Dedicated To: My daughter Lela Rose, the children, the animals, the future generations and planet Earth. Earth Voice Food Choice Manual Getting Real About Our Food Choices A Multimedia Project for Parents, Teachers, Young People And Food Personnel TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction................................................................................................................ i About the Author ...................................................................................................... iii Earth Voice Food Choice Project ........................................................................... vi The Beginning of a New Era ............................................................................... viii Chapter 1 – Earth’s Life Support Systems ............................................................. 1 Water ....................................................................................................................... 1 Soil ........................................................................................................................... 2 Plants, Trees & Forests.......................................................................................... 2 Atmosphere............................................................................................................ 3 Global Warming..................................................................................................... 3 Ozone Shield .......................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2 – Livestock vs. the Environment........................................................... 7 Soil Erosion............................................................................................................. 7 Tropical Rainforests............................................................................................... 8 Desertification........................................................................................................ 9 Pesticide & Fertilizer Use................................................................................... 10 Water Pollution .................................................................................................... 11 Global Warming................................................................................................... 12 Ozone Depletion.................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 3 – Food Choices & Natural Resources................................................. 15 Human & Livestock Populations...................................................................... 15 Energy Consumption & the Inefficiency of Livestock Production.............. 16 Water Depletion................................................................................................... 16 Land Utilization................................................................................................... 17 Grazing the Earth ................................................................................................ 18 Grain Consumption ............................................................................................ 19 Distribution of Food & World Hunger ............................................................ 20 Taxes, Subsidies, Pesticides & Water Pollution .............................................. 21 Organic Farming & Sustainable Agriculture .................................................. 22 USDA’s National Organic Program.................................................................. 22 Chapter 4 – Food Contamination........................................................................... 25 Pesticides Increase Cancer Risks....................................................................... 25 Antibiotics, Hormones, & Biogenetics ............................................................. 26 BGH–Bovine Growth Hormone........................................................................ 27 Food Inspection ................................................................................................... 27 Food Poisoning .................................................................................................... 28 PCBs ...................................................................................................................... 28 Food Irradiation................................................................................................... 28 Mad Cow Disease, BSE & CJD.......................................................................... 29 Chemicals Endangering Reproduction............................................................ 30 Chapter 5 – Animal Welfare ................................................................................... 33 Cows...................................................................................................................... 33 Chickens................................................................................................................ 34 Pigs ........................................................................................................................ 34 Ducks..................................................................................................................... 35 Fish ........................................................................................................................ 35 Chapter 6 – Foods & Disease.................................................................................. 37 Treatment vs. Prevention ................................................................................... 37 Cardiovascular Disease ...................................................................................... 38 Cancer ................................................................................................................... 39 Adult Onset (Type II) Diabetes ......................................................................... 40 The Protein Myth................................................................................................. 40 Problems with Animal Protein.......................................................................... 40 Osteoporosis......................................................................................................... 41 Kidney Disease .................................................................................................... 41 Obesity .................................................................................................................. 41 Calcium & the Milk Myth.................................................................................. 43 More Problems with Milk .................................................................................. 43 Hydrogenated Products ..................................................................................... 43 Sugar...................................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 7 – The Plant Kingdom ............................................................................ 45 Grains .................................................................................................................... 45 Legumes: Beans, Peas & Lentils........................................................................ 45 Vegetables & Fruits ............................................................................................. 46 Nuts & Seeds........................................................................................................ 46 Chapter 8 – Super Heroes For Health................................................................... 47 Antioxidants......................................................................................................... 47 Phytochemicals .................................................................................................... 48 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs).............................................................................. 50 A Healthy Diet ....................................................................................................